C93: Creating a Culture for Personal Inquiry (2.1-2.5)

Well my friends, we have now entered the second section of this dynamic book and there are so many considerations to laying the foundation of inquiry learning in our school. 

A big thank you to Kirti Kale for being a rock star and creating all of our book club PowerPoint presentations.  All of this while moving from Japan to India and beginning a coordinator position at a new school.  We love your passion and dedication in helping fellow educators.

Are we ready for this? 

​This question is the first thing we need to think about when preparing for personal inquiry.  It’s not something we run into, but, “it is the result of thoughtful conversation, careful decisions and the creation of systems that give the approach solid moorage.” according to Kath Murdoch. She continues by stating, “With the right intention and the right culture, a degree of ‘diving into the deep end’ can reveal so much about what our learners are capable of, and the process of learning through personal inquiry becomes an inquiry in itself.”  

When I began inquiry teaching, it took a lot of time to figure out what it was, how it felt, and why it mattered.  To be honest, I didn’t quite understand how the pieces came together for quite a long time.  I remember a colleague of mine, Karen Roddis, would always talk about using inquiry-driven learning within my units and asking conceptual questions. As she was talking, I couldn’t put the pieces together, because she was speaking a foreign language to me.  With time and a lot of practice, I was finally able to get there, but it takes time. 

In this book, Kath provides a lot of checklists and success criteria to consider when establishing each practice.  This is exactly what I needed as a newbie inquiry teacher to guide my practice.  If you are new to this philosophy, consider reading section 2.1, because it really made me reflect and pause on what schools need in order to move forward. 

Reflecting on whole-school culture

​The pandemic has highlighted even more the importance of strong school culture to shape the identity of all learners within the community.  School culture does not develop overnight, so making changes will also take time.  For existing cultures, it will take time to dismantle fears and misconceptions.  More than ever, we need a culture that fosters creativity, individuality, and agency.  As a teacher, I want to work in this type of environment where I can express my authentic self to the community. 

Kath provides some excellent points to consider when trying to establish a whole school culture.  “Personal inquiry does not happen simply because we provide the time and opportunity for learners.  It is not a set program nor a set of tips and tricks that can be quickly grafted onto a classroom schedule.  Inserting In a personal inquiry workshop into an existing traditional environment in which learners are, for the rest of the week, positioned as passive learners with little choice is bound to fail.”

If we are ready, you might want to consider the following: 
​

• Pedagogy is inquiry based
• There is a shared language and framework to support inquiry
• Educators are inquirers
• Learning is situated in authentic contexts
• All members of the community have a voice
• There is visible evidence of inquiry
• Planning and teaching are collaborative and responsive
• The schools has clearly articulated values and principles to support inquiry practice
• Relationships are positive, warm, and respectful
• Educators have high expectations of all learners

When I read this list of criteria for school culture, I instantly picture a school full of confident learners of all ages.  Everyone clearly embraces the vision, has the necessary tools to make it successful, and relationships guide the learning process. This is the type of school I want to be part of. 

Beliefs and assumptions

Kath Murdoch reminds us, “Our beliefs shape our practice.  How we perceive our role as teachers has a profound influence on the language we use with students, the way we organize for learning, the design of learning tasks and what we look and listen for as we assess.”

Kath asks some provoking questions that made me reflect on my own beliefs about inquiry.
​

• What do I really believe about my role as an educator?
• How do I see my learners?
• What relationship do I have with the curriculum?
• What do I really understand about how learning happens?
• What do I think school is for?
• Have my beliefs changed over time? Why/why not?
• Is what I believe in my heart really manifested in my teaching?
• Where have my beliefs come from? 

This really made me pause for a moment.  Not only did I reflect on my practice, but I thought of  educators that have shaped and challenged my beliefs and values about learning,

Mondrea is my friend who is wise beyond her years. She is passionate about educational equity, particularly amongst children within at-risk communities.  She is striving to create a school that offers inquiry-driven education to those who rarely have access.  This warms my heart, because her passion for the PYP program is infectious.  We can speak for hours about aspects of inquiry and how it applies to our real lives.  The thing I appreciate the most is when she challenges my thinking to stretch beyond my current understanding.

Vidhya is well-read.  No book or professional development opportunity is safe from her grasp.  She took time from teaching within a PYP setting to learn more about the program through her personalized inquiry learning.  She engages in webinars, courses, personal reading and research, book clubs, and more.  What fascinates me about her the most is her resiliency against the unknown.  She has faced many uncertain situations in her professional and personal life, but she keeps shining.  This is rooted in a deep belief that we are all inquirers and deserve the most out of our learning experiences. 

Being surrounded by people who share our similar beliefs about inquiry helps to strengthen our practice.  This especially helps us when our school culture misunderstands the role of inquiry in our learning and teaching. 

Building community nurturing agency

​This section began with this idea, “The courage to take a risk and try something new is stronger when you know that others around you have ‘got your back’.”

We all want to work in a culture where the people around us have our backs.  They don’t necessarily have to support our initiatives, but they support our right to take them.  This is huge in setting the stage for innovation to bloom.  Our students need to feel the same level of support in order to authentically pursue their personal inquiries.

Kath suggests, “Take our young learner’s ideas seriously, and engaging in thoughtful and genuine dialogue where we show a true interest in their thinking, their ideas, and their views of the world, is a powerful force for relationship building and models the way we hope learners will relate to each other.”

How many times do we elicit learner questions and post them on our wonder wall?  Do we actually look at them?  Hmm…

On page 53, there is an amazing chart that speaks to growing a culture that values agency and small steps we can take that will make a big difference.  It presents what we traditionally might do in various learning situations and presents an alternative.